As the Senior Director of Sales Enablement and Competitive Intelligence at SecureAuth, Joe Booth is responsible for putting the systems and processes in place to ensure reps are effective in the field. Mindtickle was one of the key tools for helping reps find accurate, up to date information that was consistent across the channels and the sales reps were able to find quickly and easily when they needed it.
“Not only are we able to keep content in Mindtickle and keep that very up to date, but we’re also put together training on how to use that content and also training on sales process and onboarding and a lot of the other things that you would expect from a system like Mindtickle to be able to do. But I would say that Mindtickle being able to integrate with our content management system as well as integrating into our CRM has been a huge, huge gain in productivity and efficiency for our sales reps across the organization,” explains Joe.
Joe continues on to discuss how SecureAuth’s enablement program includes sales certifications for passing different kinds of Missions, Mindtickle’s virtual role-play capability, to develop and practice skills such as elevator pitches, demo presentations, or writing prospect-facing emails. For example, “SecureAuth’s Account Executives complete a video role-play with a screen-share scenario presenting their pitch deck. The Sales Engineers practice a screen recording of a demo.” As continuing enablement, Joe is developing various quizzes associated with these different scenarios as well as coaching programs to engage SecureAuth’s leadership in their enablement programs.
In this 30 minute podcast, Joe explains how SecureAuth:
Established best practices and periodically ensures reps are on-message
Reduced admin overhead and accelerated the onboarding experience with Mindtickle and Salesforce user-sync
Ensured consistent adoption of enablement programs through steady stream of communication
Plans for the future of partner enablement and onboarding
Senior Manager of Sales Enablement, Ali Jones is responsible for MuleSoft’s early stage opportunity strategy and executive briefing program. Her experience brings together Ali’s experience in direct selling and consulting.
“We have a relatively small enablement team at MuleSoft. One person is focused on sales analytics, then three enablement managers each have ownership over part of the sales process. Each of us also has ownership over specific programs and regional alignment as well. We’re generalists yet we also have the opportunity to go deep and really maximize how we engage with our customers and generate revenue,”
explains Ali.
Each function also has their own enablement team, but they each leverage the content and assets that are built by the central team. This flexible structure has enabled MuleSoft to grow and scale up very quickly.
Two crucial parts of their central enablement program are MuleSoft’s onboarding KickStart program and its certification process.
“We take our certification process very seriously,” says Ali. “Salespeople go through multiple rounds and the bar is really high. People take weeks to prepare for their certification. The nice thing is that when they come out of it we are 100% positive that they will nail it in front of a customer.”
So far, over 500 people have been through MuleSoft’s certification program, and they aspire to do so much more with it.
As Ali says, “
sales enablement is such an interesting place to be in the software world. It’s exciting and there are so many interesting things to do.”
In this 20 minute
podcast Ali explains:
How MuleSoft has structured its enablement team and compensation to drive sales results
What makes MuleSoft’s Kickstart onboarding experience so unique and impactful
The tools that have helped MuleSoft enable and scale its sales team
The advice she would give to herself if she could do it again
With today’s buyers waiting until they are 60 – 80% along their buying process, depending on which research you read, it’s becoming more and more important for these cross-functional departments to get on the same page. Without this alignment, it becomes nearly impossible for sales to function efficiently and close business as effectively as possible. That’s why building a completely integrated sales enablement ecosystem is important.
A sales enablement ecosystem should ensure that salespeople have access to the right content at the right time to advance sales. Plus, it should provide technology to sales staff that will help them streamline their tasks. An ecosystem that consists of a sales enablement platform that sits between the enterprise marketing automation (MA) system and its customer relationship management (CRM) system can facilitate the collection of intelligence from both systems and everything else that happens in between. Combining the data from both systems can help provide analytics and insights to use in decision making. With such a platform, the more solutions you can be integrated, the greater the insights. This intel is valuable to all involved departments including Marketing, Sales, Sales Ops, Product Development, Customer Service, and more. And, it puts everyone on the same page for more streamlined and efficient operations.
There are many benefits to building a completely integrated sales enablement ecosystem, including:
Consistent messaging
Improved communications across the entire enterprise help with consistency of branding, messaging, and updated product information. It provides sales with timely information that’s needed to craft messages for specific prospects. Without this free flow of information between departments, it’s more difficult to achieve business success.
Buyer’s journey alignment
Improved marketing and sales alignment with the buyer’s journey is a result of improved intra-department communications. Marketing needs to remain informed concerning prospect motivators and challenges. Sales reps are in the best position to acquire this information and share it with Marketing. Salespeople see the ever-evolving pain points of their leads and are able to share them. This allows Marketing to continually create content to address these as they change.
Agile strategy adjustments
This open feedback from sales reps to other departments, such as Marketing and Operations, facilitates quick changes to sales and marketing strategies.
Ability to share quickly and easily
These adjustments are then easily communicated through this shared platform in the form of updates, training, and new content. And it’s all done with the simple click of a button.
A huge competitive advantage
Due to increased efficiencies, organizations who build a completely integrated sales enablement ecosystem gain a huge competitive advantage in the marketplace.
A fully enabled sales team
With all training, coaching, content, and communications funneling through one platform, your sales team is always up-to-date. They are prepared for any prospect or situation and able to create valuable solutions easily.</>
Increased sales performance and productivity
With everything available in one place, sales reps are able to find the content they need quickly, gaining increased selling time. Plus, consistent updates, training, and coaching make them more effective. These elements improve sales results as well.
Building your ecosystem
With so many benefits you’re probably wondering how to go about building a completely integrated sales enablement ecosystem for your organization. Start by determining your objectives and goals. Next, select a sales enablement platform that will best meet your requirements. The selection process includes considerations such as ease of use, mobile readiness, integration options, and analytics capabilities. Be sure to consider whether the vendor will be a good partner on the long-term. Implement your selected solution. This includes defining scope, allocating resources, building a process, training, and more. You’ll find additional information about this process in this article.
A clearer structure and open communications provide for better operations. Building a completely integrated sales enablement ecosystem keeps Sales, Marketing, Operations, and more on the same page. The many benefits you’ll gain include consistent messaging and improved buyer’s journey alignment. Agile strategy adjustments and sharing of information at the touch of a button allow your organization to stay ahead of other businesses in the marketplace. This gives your company an advantage over the competition. A fully enabled salesforce increases sales performance and productivity. Of course, all of this adds up to a stronger organization and better bottom line. As you can see, it’s worth the effort to start building a completely integrated sales enablement ecosystem so your organization can reap the benefits too.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is here to stay. While there’s been a lot of hype about AI we’re yet to see it’s true value – but I don’t believe we’ll have to wait much longer. In fact, AI technology can be found in some sales software already.
AI has the potential to have a profound impact on your sales strategies and the sales readiness of your reps.
Forrester predicts that AI will disrupt your sales strategy this year. In fact, 84% of businesses believe AI will give them a competitive advantage and 69% believe their competitors will use it too.
It will make your sales organization more intelligent agile, and customer-centric. It may even change the way you sell altogether.
What is AI?
AI is the ability for a computer program or a machine to think and learn. AI, therefore, needs a lot of data that it can filter and process quickly. The more data you give AI the more intelligent it will become.
AI can be used in simple tasks, like playing a game of chess with you, or for more complex decisions like behind the wheel of a driverless car.
Potentially, AI can be used to do anything that a human does. It can sort through your inbox and work out what emails you should prioritize and help you research your customers. The biggest limitation on AI in the future will be what your customers are happy to accept. For example, many may not want to have a complex discussion about your product, but they may be happy to ask a chatbot some preliminary questions.
Research by Capgemini has found that AI increases sales of products and services and increases inbound customer leads.
Analyzing sales conversations
It can take hours for managers to wade through taped phone calls or listen in on live calls so they can coach their salespeople. Converastion intelligence listens to conversations, transcribing, and then analyzing them. This technology exists today and is able to pick up on key parts of the conversation like when a customer starts talking about the issues they are facing or information that competitors have given them.
This information can then be used by your sales managers to help coach their salespeople. Your sales enablement team can also use it to improve processes and best practices, like call scripts and training materials. The product and marketing teams can also use the competitor information for their market and customer insights.
This technology has the potential to develop and improve even face-to-face sales conversations in the future. Imagine if it could ‘hear’ every conversation reps have out in the field. These could all be analyzed to provide information about how to improve how each individual rep sells.
It could also be used to script phone conversations in real-time. This would give SDRs all the information they need to deal with customer questions and objections as they arise.
Optimizing lead generation
Finding the right leads for your salespeople can be like finding a needle in a haystack. Because AI can process large amounts of data quickly, and then learn from what it finds, it has the potential to revolutionize lead generation.
Rather than a person having to go through Google, social media, or other data sources, AI can review these for you. The technology can not only identify the right job titles and businesses to target, but it can also analyze the sentiment in comments made on social media or by email. This means AI can help you identify whether someone is unhappy with a competitor’s product or is in the market for a new one. When you consider that 57% of buyers are already far along their decision-making process before they meet a salesperson, the earlier you can speak to them the better your opportunity to convert them.
Some platforms already use AI to help them identify the right leads and contact them. The technology can create prospecting emails, monitor responses and improve how they react to them. It can compare lead responses to past data and even predict how each lead will respond, helping prioritize leads. This frees up the time of marketing and salespeople, qualifying prospects quicker and more cost-effectively.
Having sales conversations
While it’s unlikely that AI will replace salespeople in complex sales any time soon, they can help move sales conversations further down the process. Many businesses already use chatbots to answer simple questions for customers on their websites.
According to Forrester, these are already replacing email in customer service channels in large companies like Nike and Apple and they may influence up to 10% of purchasing decisions. The more conversations the technology has with customers, the more it will learn.
Customers are also getting used to talking to AI, with 48% of people favoring live chat compared to 54% preferring email. The gap is closing.
The power of AI extends far beyond the sales conversation and into the data that the technology can collect during these conversations. They can take the information that customers share, identify their sentiment and then feed that information back to your sales, enablement, product, and marketing teams. This can inform your sales training, processes, product features, and marketing strategies as well.
Automating tasks
Salespeople can spend almost a quarter of their time on administrative tasks. Managing their emails, logging their activity, and updating the CRM. This is all time that could be spent selling. It is here that AI can potentially generate the quickest wins. If it can give back selling hours to each of your salespeople’s days, that has the potential to go straight to your topline revenue.
There are many ways that AI can potentially reduce administration at the frontline. Prioritizing emails and suggesting how a salesperson should respond to them is just one. Depending on the data available to it, AI could help put together the best pricing option for a customer, conduct credit checks and automate billing. AI can even do a salesperson’s reading for them, notifying them if something has changed that means they need to call a customer. If a customer has recently acquired another business or a new VP has been appointed, it may be time for your rep to touch base again.
Forecasting
Prediction is what AI specializes in so it’s only fitting that it would be used for forecasting. By providing data about past performance it can use it to predict future performance – but AI can go further.
It can take data from a wide range of sources and pull them together to create a predictive model for future performance. Rather than just telling you if you’ll meet your quota at the end of the year, AI tells you which deals are more likely to close and when. Sales managers and reps can be far more strategic about their customer interactions.
Taking it a step further, AI could tell you which customers to upsell to and when. This can save reps a significant amount of time and energy, by focusing efforts where it’s more likely to be rewarded. The result should be an increase in win rates and productivity.
A study in MIT Sloan Management Review found that 76% of early adopters aimed for higher sales growth using AI and it’s easy to see why. AI has the potential to completely change the way reps play the game. It can give them more time to sell and improve how they sell as well.
With so many different options available to you, the biggest challenge is to work out which AI technology to implement first – perhaps there’ll be an algorithm that can even tell you that soon.
Modern sales technologies have the potential to positively impact sales organizations with increased efficiencies and productivity while boosting results. In fact, according to Aberdeen Research, companies with a sales enablement tool had a 13% revenue growth rate, 3x that of companies without this technology. The challenge businesses face when implementing these tools, is how to effectively proceed so their salesforce will actually use it. So, how do companies successfully implement new sales readiness tools for optimum benefits?
Define the scope Before getting started it is critical, to the success of your implementation, that you first define your goals, develop a plan, and designate roles for the process.
If you don’t know what you want to accomplish, and how you plan to do so, how will you know what success looks like? It is also important that you identify who will be responsible for which roles during the process to ensure that all tasks are covered and that none are forgotten.
Allocate resources and support It is important that you and your technology vendor allocate the necessary resources to handle all aspects of the implementation. It’s equally as necessary to have support mechanisms in place as you roll out your new sales tool. You don’t want your salesforce to abandon usage because they can’t gain answers to their questions, or assistance with issues while learning.
Don’t try to do everything at once Most technologies have many features. Prioritize which features will benefit your organization the most, in the shortest time, and implement around those first. Then build from there. It’s important for your organization, especially your reps and managers, to see results quickly. If they feel that the tool is helping them be better, or more productive, they are more likely to adopt it and use it routinely.
Build the process Prepare all elements needed throughout your initial process. Be sure that all materials are aligned with your sales process and buyer’s journey. Once you’ve done so you’ll know what content you’ll need throughout your implementation and will be able to plan for future requirements as well.
Consider a pilot Complete a pilot first for a subset of your salesforce. This allows you to gather feedback from power users and laggards, to determine best practices and roadblocks, to tool use as well as the launch process. You’ll also have success stories and wins to share with the rest of the sale force when you roll out the new technology to them. Plus, you will have champions and mentors from the pilot group to assist with the balance of the launch.
Train each role separately It’s best to train individuals based on how they will use the tool, not based on a title. This prevents confusion and overwhelm, by only training on tool functions they’ll actually be using, but not on those that don’t apply to them. This will also save valuable time for all involved.
Drive adoption Keep it simple and provide opportunities for staff to easily utilize the new tool, so they’ll see its benefits quickly. Some companies find that using the new platform, for information updates and event pre-work, for an upcoming meeting is effective. This is true because it involves all who need to become familiar with the new platform and provides the repetitive practice needed for learning.
Continuous feedback and refinement Be sure to set up a mechanism to collect user feedback on a routine basis. This allows timely adjustments to the process as you continue to introduce additional features and functionalities.
Taking these steps will result in widespread adoption and successful implementation of your new sales readiness tools. For more tips on how organizations have launched sales technology for optimum results, check out this article or this case study.
Not all that long ago, in-person classroom training was how companies prepared their sales force to engage in selling activities. They’d provide instructor-led classes that took reps out of their work environments for days at a time. Cumbersome paper binders and manuals were used for reference, being updated maybe once or twice a year, if ever.
It also used to be that managers and reps had to meet for coaching to ensure continuous performance improvement. Today, digitization of learning simplifies these processes and enables your sales force to learn and develop efficiently while hitting their targets. So what are some of the other benefits of digitization? Let’s take a look.
Digital learning minimizes or eliminates in-person events
Allows completion of pre-work, as well as post-work reinforcement, so that in-person training and coaching are kept to a minimum. This reduces the impact and costs associated with these sessions. Pre-work allows participants to prepare before attendance, so that any in-person time may be dedicated to discussion and practice, instead of instruction and one-sided demonstration.
Post-work and ongoing learning is easily delivered in micro-learning modules. According to research by Hermann Ebbinghaus, these small, frequent sessions over time produce better knowledge retention and skills development when compared to less-frequent sessions. Digitization allows for the provision of these bite-sized learning modules that have minimal impact on schedules. They also reinforce lessons learned during live sessions.
Gamification is often part of digital learning. It makes it more engaging and enjoyable, encouraging increased participation and improved outcomes.
Enables timely feedback
Feedback is important when learning. The fact that digitized learning is provided through the cloud makes it well-suited for technologies that are mobile-friendly. With portable, digital learning, reps are able to record audio or video of their practice pitch, demo, or skill to submit for feedback. Their coach, trainer, colleague, or manager may then provide timely input, reinforcing correct behaviors and preventing the development of poor habits.
Flexibility
Digitization of learning provides flexibility to reps and managers alike. Content is easily accessible and micro-learning is simple to incorporate into busy schedules. Plus sales coaching and readiness become a part of the day-to-day routine, instead of being an occasional occurrence. That’s a huge improvement over the 21.7% of sales managers who, according to CSO Insights, have implemented a formal coaching program.
Personalized
Digital learning facilitates personalization. Instead of teaching a group with various backgrounds and knowledge, material viewed by each rep is specific to their learning needs. This ensures continuous growth. It also makes it possible for individuals to progress at their own pace. Those who grasp new skills and information more rapidly no longer need to be held back by those who may need more assistance with certain skills or concepts.
Improves accountability
Learning in the cloud increases accountability. Since it easily fits into any schedule and participation can take place anywhere, there’s simply no excuse not to complete designated tasks on an ongoing basis. Each activity is documented, so there’s no doubt when and what has been accomplished by individual reps and managers.
Simplified certification
In the past, it used to be necessary to take reps and managers out of the field to certify them. They’d travel to a central location to demonstrate their understanding of new products or skills as well as their ability to effectively present them. This was a costly and time-consuming process for all involved. Now, digitization simplifies certifications by allowing performance and evaluation through audio or video recordings. For knowledge assessment, simple tests may also be used at the completion of modules.
Facilitates sharing best practices
It used to be that reps would ride along with more experienced ones in the field, to see how they interacted with or presented to, customers. This was costly, time-consuming, and not necessarily effective. Learning in the cloud facilitates the development of a library of best practices to easily share as examples in training and coaching. The added bonus is that these may be re-used and replayed as often as necessary to aid in the learning process. Not only that, they aren’t dependent on schedules or availability and may be accessed at any time.
Always up to date
The binders and manuals that were previously used for onboarding, training, and reference, were usually outdated by the time they were printed and distributed. There may have been additional updates and inserts distributed, but they were never as current as the digital versions created today. Being in the cloud, they aren’t cumbersome or difficult to handle and are easy to update – plus, no physical distribution is needed.
Digitization also allows organizations to share critical updates without taking reps and management out of the field so they remain productive. It also keeps them current, so they’re aware of time-sensitive internal, product, and market changes.
With all these benefits, shouldn’t you empower your salesforce by digitizing their learning too?
What we can expect from technology in the sales enablement space
The key challenges to really enabling your sales team through content and process
Some of the pitfalls of trying to get sales enablement change off the ground
What are the hallmarks of a good sales enablement practitioner
With 20 years of experience in sales enablement both as a practitioner at companies such as IBM and as a Senior Analyst for Forrester, Steven Wright has seen a lot of change. In this day and age, change is the new normal and how we sell is transforming bringing with it new challenges, particularly with the use of technology.
“Sometimes there’s a very sharp pain and somebody finds a tool that will address it, but they haven’t really thought about the bigger picture. The overall process and program and dedication it’s gonna take to consistently execute on the sales enablement program. This tool may not help them get people onboard or keep them up to speed and keep reinforcing what they’re doing as part of an ongoing process,” explains Steven.
An area where technology has the potential to really transform how we sell in the future is in customer relationship.
“From the sales enablement perspective, companies who are using a lot of different technologies could try and lower the burden of the CRM on sellers so that they’re spending more time selling and less time doing data entry. A lot of that has to do with being able to capture data about sales activities that they were doing like how they are using emails, what they’re doing with content, is it being opened, is it being read and using all those analytics to be a real source of intelligence on what to do next,” says Steven.
Improving the productivity of reps is one area where technology has the opportunity to help and possibly hinder, training is another challenging area, particularly for businesses that have already invested in LMS.
“A lot of companies have a hybrid approach to training. This varies by industry – some have more need for certification like financial services or pharmaceuticals – that the curriculum in an LMS has. Other companies, with a focus on sales, need the approach Mindtickle brings to bear. Something that can be delivered very quickly, which on one hand meets a lot of tactical needs but can be part of a bigger development framework,” explains Steven.
“I think a lot of companies that haven’t made an investment in LMS probably aren’t going to need it if they can adopt the right kind of technology with some of the newer approaches like Mindtickle.”
“An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”―Benjamin Franklin
The role of Chief Learning Officer (CLO) has been around for several years. CLOs are responsible for driving the strategic direction of an organization’s learning. In the past, some have mistaken the role of a CLO to simply be populating the Learning Management System, but things are changing quickly and the role of CLO is now expected to rapidly adapt.
According to
Deloitte’s 2016 Global Human Capital Trends Report
,
“CLOs should become part of the entire employee experience, delivering learning solutions that inspire people to reinvent themselves, develop deep skills, and contribute to the learning of others
.” This change is being driven by several factors, and each one is shaping the role of the CLO in the future.
The future is coming quickly
It might sound obvious, but learning strategy has to reflect the business’ objectives. In the past, learning has sat to one side and focused in on specific technical knowledge or skills, but that’s no longer enough. The CLO needs to understand how the learning agenda fits into their company, the industry and what their competitors are doing. This is because the learning must not only support the business today but into the future.
While CLO’s don’t have crystal balls, they now need to keep an eye on future trends and ensure that their business has the capability and capacity to adapt quickly when required. Disruption is no longer something that happens to other businesses, it’s a real threat for every business so the CLO has to ensure that the business is prepared to weather any storm that may come their way.
Change is the new normal
In the past, learning programs could take weeks to create and be rolled out over the course of months or even years. This approach no longer works, what you learn today could change or be updated next month. This has dramatic implications for the learning agenda.
Learning programs now need to adapt and be flexible enough to accommodate continuous change. This creates challenges both for those who create learning programs and all for the people who are receiving the learning. Not only does information need to be added, changed and updated regularly, but it also needs to be easy to digest.
Learning is a continuous process, and that can’t be taught in workshops or meetings twice a year. Learning programs need to be fluid and integrated into business as usual. This means that managers and those close to the end users need to be integrated into the learning process.
The closer to a topic you are, the quicker you are able to adapt to any change to it. Things like learning agendas that enable managers to give structured and continuous coaching to their team are part of this change. Just in time training is another development that is gaining speed as it allows employees to stay on top of things as and when they need to know them.
Another thing that’s impacting this is the way work is changing as well. More workers operate remotely, work virtually and have flexible hours. This adds a new layer of complexity to how learning programs are rolled out, accessed and reinforced.
New generations are entering the workforce and older ones are leaving
By 2025, 75% of the US workforce
will be millennials, but presently they share their workplaces with Baby Boomers and Generation X. Managing multi-generational workforces has also made the role of the CLO more challenging. Each generation has different learning preferences – millennials are connected to their mobile phone while many baby boomers prefer face to face communication.
When it comes to developing learning strategies, the preferences and needs of each generation need to be taken into account. If all employees are not engaged then some will be left behind when it comes to development.
CLOs need to look at not only the content of learning programs but also how it is delivered. Some things to consider include social networks, mobile enablement and the way content is structured. For example, millennials have a preference for microlearning, which is a big shift from traditional instructional led training.
The changing dynamics within the workplace is also raising new issues. As Baby Boomers prepare to leave the workforce, along with them goes decades of experience and knowledge. Some would also prefer to remain connected to their workforce, raising the possibility of new learning opportunities like mentoring.
All of these factors need to be included in the learning agenda and prioritized by the CLO in a way that engages all employees and meets business objectives.
Every business function needs to justify their position
In the past, learning has been measured by the number of people who have completed courses but this doesn’t demonstrate the value that the learning programs have added to the organization. As organizations become leaner and more agile, every executive and each function needs show how they contribute to the achieving the business goals. This forms the basis of a business case when competing for resources. To do this CLOs need robust reporting and tracking.
Analysis should show how the learning programs have changed the way people work, made them more productive or improved their revenue earning capability. This must then also dovetail into the broader business objectives. Is the learning program a competitive differentiator in the recruitment marketplace? Does it help the business retain employees? Does the learning have a positive impact on engagement?
Retaining and engaging employees is becoming harder
Learning has traditionally been a one size fits all approach, but in order to retain employees and keep them engaged organizations need to focus in on the individual needs of their employees. Learning programs need to be flexible enough to allow individuals to develop on their own journey. By giving individuals the ability to take some responsibility for their own development and have a say in what capabilities they develop, organizations can improve engagement and build capable workforces.
This means providing learning opportunities outside the classroom. Rather than focusing on role-specific learning and build capabilities. Capabilities extend beyond technical skills and can include understanding, empathy, stakeholder management, and networking. Empower employees to learn at their own pace and to be in charge of their own destiny.
Underpinning all of these developments is the need for technology that supports the changing world of learning. Learning tools that are able to be customized and can adapt to different needs, yet still provide enough structure to support managers and leaders to have consistency in the organization. Technology can’t be an afterthought, it needs to fit in with how people work today and how they will work in the future.
The role of the CLO is certainly changing. With each and every day it becomes more challenging and complex, but it brings so many opportunities to innovate and think differently about how people learn. It’s an exciting time to be a leader in corporate learning.
If you’re looking for a quick win in your sales enablement programs then look no further than your sales engineering team. One of the most overlooked roles in sales enablement is that of the sales engineer, also known as technical sales, pre-sales or sales consultant. While 94.3% of businesses focus their sales enablement initiatives on frontline salespeople and account managers, only 45.9% shine light on their sales engineers, yet they play a crucial role in the sales process.
Sales engineers often require more enablement than reps by virtue of the highly technical nature of their role. They not only need to know everything about their product, competitors, verticals, and industry, but sales engineers must also understand how to apply this information to different use cases and differentiate your product from that of your competitors. Sales engineers touch almost every part of the sales process and play a significant role in proving the success of your product to potential customers.
The sales engineer is the resident product expert in a sales call – a situation that can be highly stressful even for the most competent professional. They bring together the knowledge of how existing customers use your product, usually learned from the customer success team, with the sales teams understanding of the customer, their pain points, and needs. Essentially, sales engineers need to have the knowledge that both sales and customer success teams have, along with the detailed specifications of your product. As a consultant, they provide the deep knowledge that helps customers see why they should choose your product and be able to demonstrate it.
Their role covers not only initial sales conversations but also customized demonstrations and proof of concepts. It’s the sales engineer who sets up sandboxes and pilots so that customers can trial your product and see their specific use cases in action. This process of proof of concept can take a sales engineer anywhere from one week to six months to complete.
Some businesses have acknowledged the key role that sales engineers play. Symantec designed and implemented a comprehensive enablement program targeted specifically to the sales engineers and they believe well-enabled sales engineers make their pipeline bulletproof. This is the exception rather than the rule and speaks to the value Symantec have placed on the role of the sales engineer in their focus on customer success. Many companies simply arm sales engineers with the same information that they give their sales reps or customer success teams. While this is a start, it rarely provides them with all the information they need, nor the depth of knowledge required, to complete their role effectively.
Some areas that sales engineers need to be enabled include:
Detailed product knowledge that incorporates technical specifications
Customer use cases
The product roadmap and future releases
The RFP process and what security documents are required for different verticals and industries
Up to date information on competitor products and industry updates
The ability to dive deeper into specific pain points and requirements
How to conduct a technical demonstration and manage trials and proof of concepts
Each aspect of the sales process including who is involved and understanding when they are required
Given how critical sales engineers are in turning an opportunity into a customer, it’s surprising that more businesses have not focused on enabling their knowledge and needs. Businesses that do this now can achieve a competitive advantage that is almost guaranteed to help them close more deals faster.
This post is based on a webinar where Mark Tefakis, VP of Global Enablement at Fuze, shares the key pillars of successful sales enablement and how to show its ROI to your leadership.
Fuze is an award-winning “cloud-based unified communication platform that addresses complexities around the modern workforce with the ability to work in a way that drives efficiency and effectiveness for the growth and profitability metrics companies need,” explains Mark. “Founded in 2006, we’re headquartered in Boston and have offices throughout Europe, into Australia, Latin America, and Asia Pacific.”
The evolution and need for sales enablement
“Sales Enablement centered around training and development initially and expanded into how you fully enable the sales organization,” Mark continued. “A lot of CSOs are being challenged with having a constant pulse on the business, to be able to report on where they are today, where they’re going tomorrow, and knowing the lead and lag indicators so they can be responsive to the demands of the business. The discipline of sales enablement is a foundational set of processes and standards that help the CSO address that pressure and scrutiny. This foundation includes time to ramp (TTR) [onboarding], ongoing enablement [to increase productivity], and [preventing] unplanned churn.”
The five pillars of sales enablement
Mark developed the concept of the five pillars of sales enablement through his experience in sales and sales leadership. They are:
Organizational alignment: “Before you get started you have to understand the dynamics around the organizational alignment. Do you have governance and some process in place where everybody understands the vision, strategies, initiatives, scorecards, and metrics that you’re putting in place to drive the success of the program? That’s critically important,” explained Mark.
Role-based certification: Most sales organizations have several different roles that vary by company and industry. Role-based certification involves identifying the competency model tied to the skills and knowledge associated with each role. As you look through the motion of each role, what is the thing reps need to know, say, show, and do as they manage the day-in-a-life of performing against the expectations of the role? Next, turn it into a curriculum and how you want to train, develop, and evaluate the performance of these roles. There are three levels that comprise this certification model:
Lecture and test the retention of knowledge;
Exercise and application, transitioning from understanding a concept into applying and exercising the skill tied to that concept prior to going out into the field; and
Managers evaluateperformance in the field and coach.
Enablement on demand: “Leverage technology to streamline how effectively you execute against the things that are defined in the role-based competency model. There’s no need for heavy dependency on instructor-led training or virtual training when there are technology and applications that allow you to better drive efficiency and effectiveness, plus scale better for the organization within a proper cost model,” explains Mark. “Leverage technology as part of this foundational layer and put the power in the palm of the hand of the individual. Do this within cloud-based applications, with integration into CRM, where you can tie learning and sales supporting assets to a specific sales scenario, prescribing assets and learning based on that scenario. Also building in some gamification to drive contest around how people learn is really compelling. I would encourage you to think about enablement on demand,” he continues.
Predictive analytics: “It’s one thing to look at reports and reference a dashboard of things that happened in the past. It’s another to look through the windshield, at the road ahead, and predictively be able to tell where your business is going. If you establish the right lead and lag metrics, supporting technology can show when individuals in your sales organization are heading for disaster. You can then start to prescribe specific learning to get them over that hurdle so they can start to perform much better,” suggests Mark.
Sales advisory boards (a.k.a. voice of the customer): “If you don’t establish champions and have a feedback loop from the sales organization, you will battle some apprehensive people while you’re pushing programs out. This is a mechanism for you to be able to gather insight and feedback in a structured fashion. Sales can contribute to the design and development of your initiatives through localized champions who can support and help drive adoption,” he explains.
“With the five pillars of successful sales enablement,” Mark explained, “we’re leveraging really interesting technology to help do this so you can scale with the demands of the business. You’re not asking the CFO for a ton of bodies, you’re actually leveraging the power of technology, and better equipping and enabling the field based on the power in the palm of your hand, which ties back to the center pillar of enabling on demand.”
How sales enablement works at Fuze
“First and foremost is sales methodology. Whether you do it internally or you leverage an external partner, you have to start there because that is the foundation that drives the rest of the bubbles to the right,” Mark continued.
“Once you have that in place, you then start to think in terms of how to establish a best practice approach to outreach and engagement to the marketplace. We use Mindtickle for our learning management system and recently launched it to our global sales organization. We use Savo for our content management system and a combination of both Mindtickle and Savo to help us with ‘voice of the customer’ and engagement with the field. This gives us the pulse of what’s going on,” explains Mark.
“All of these equate to very effective sales productivity based on the pillars and the underlying enablement technology that you can put in place.”
